Intrigues and Human Schemes

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Today's Song is: Cryoshell - Creeping In My Soul

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As he walked around the room, Suo Bai saw many Gu that were familiar from the knowledge he had gathered in his family's library and the Gu academy library.

In recent days, Suo Bai hasn't just been cultivating his aperture and studying at the academy. He recently had access to the academy's library and spent most of that week reading all the books there.

And he can say with confidence that he learned a lot. Various questions about cultivation, refinement, beasts, and much more knowledge about the cultivation world of the southern border.

Even some of the clan's common recipes, theories of combat and cultivation, the subjects vary on specific topics. And Suo Bai absorbed everything and converted it into useful knowledge for him.

And with all this knowledge that he had obtained, he began to deduce and derive all kinds of Gu recipes that he could, because of the extra logic and teachings that Suo Bai had absorbed in the library, he was able to deduce some facilities and simplify some common Gu worm recipes that already existed.

Of course, he hasn't yet managed to deduce a completely new Gu, or invent a breakthrough Gu. But he managed to increase the success rate and reduce the complexity of some recipes with his knowledge of some Gu materials and their properties.

And this study is made even easier if Nexus has access to these materials so that it can study their structure completely and interact with their properties more precisely.

And one of the ones he was most keen to derive to change the recipe was a Gu that he really wanted to get his hands on. It has great attack power and little consumption of primitive essence, it was a Rank 2 Gu that even a Level 1 Gu Master with low aptitude could use without any problems.

Sneak Attack Gu, a Stealing Path Gu created by Thieving Heaven, the first Stealing Path Gu he successfully refined. This Gu had high attack power at a low cost, he was the perfect Gu for decisive battles.

Suo Bai already knew the recipe completely and even the right way to refine it, but no matter how much he deduced, he always came up short. Which was that the baby had to have a special constitution that was unknown to Suo Bai.

*Flashback

[Do you want to start the simulation?]

"Yes, start the simulation now." Suo Bai was confident in refining the Sneak Attack Gu, after all, he had the entire refinement process of the venerable man who created this Gu in his memory book. Not to mention that Nexus had the ability to simulate possibilities in Gu refinement.

[Starting Simulation!]

[1st attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

[2nd attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

[3rd attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

[4th attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

[5th attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

Suo Bai sighed as he watched the simulations go wrong one after the other: "Looks like this Gu isn't that easy to refine."

While Nexus carried out the simulations, Suo Bai sat in the lotus position and began to analyze the cause of the failures of the previous simulations and try to help Nexus with the simulations while taking the opportunity to learn more about Gu refinement.

[16th attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

After so many failures in a row, Suo Bai finally saw a possible cause for this, so he instructed Nexus. "Nexus, change the baby's special constitution to an infectious origin instead of genetic and try again!"

[Understood, Sir!]

[17th attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

[23rd attempt...]

[...]

[Fail!]

[31st attempt...]

[...]

[Success!]

"Yes! Save the simulation and run the next simulations from it." After many attempts, the long-awaited victory that Suo Bai so desperately wanted finally came.

[Immediately, Sir!]

"And by the way, which infection was successful?" Suo Bai was curious, as this would surely be useful in his future refinements, to understand the complexity of how small factors can have such an enormous influence on the process as a whole.

[It was the infection caused by group A streptococci, specifically Streptococcus pneumoniae]

"I see, this bacteria can be really dangerous for children under 5. But I didn't know there were such bacteria in the Gu world, I thought it was all built from Dao Marks or primitive energy," Suo Bai found curious.

[There aren't actually many microorganisms in our environment, sir. So I believe that the 'infection' the child caught was not exactly from the bacteria, but from Dao Marks that act in a similar way to the bacteria].

"That makes a lot more sense for this world." Suo bai was fascinated by how the Gu world follows certain principles that he remembered learning in his old world, but presents them in its own way.

[But now we have the problem of how we're going to get a baby with this specific infection for refinement]

"I don't know, maybe we should find another way to refine this Gu, try to derive an alternative path." Suo Bai suggested.

[I think it's difficult, sir. Because our reach on the path of theft is ridiculously low, and we still haven't managed to get in touch with any real Gu worms on the path of theft so that we have a base to follow]

"Sigh. I understand, but keep trying, we might get lucky. In any case, it's only a simulation." Suo Bai sighed in frustration and commanded.

[I see, sir!]

*End of Flashback

"Hey, young man! Your time is running out, choose a Gu Worm and get out soon, there's still a huge queue waiting" The voice of one of the guards in front of the Gu room sounded, drawing Suo Bai's attention.

'How many Gu worms did you manage to scan Nexus?' Suo Bai took a Moonlight Gu from a porcelain plate and left the room.

[Approximately 42 Gu worms, Sir!]

'That's good enough for me. Suo Bai then headed home to begin refining his Gu.

As soon as the Fang brothers arrived home, a servant came towards them and guided them to the reception room where their uncles wanted to meet them. Suo Bai simply nodded, knowing full well what they wanted, and went to greet his aunt and uncle; Fang Zheng, who was at his side, also followed him.

The uncle and aunt looked at the twins with an expression that was difficult to discern and spoke to them: "I decided to refrain from bringing this conversation up during your first week at the Gu academy, but now that you have acquired your first Gu Worm and have entered the true path of a Gu Master, we have decided to bring this subject up."

Fang Zheng, who was standing on Suo Bai's left side, tilted his head without understanding what his uncles wanted to say, but Suo Bai, who was standing next to him, could already superficially discern what subject his uncles wanted to bring up.

"I know that refining a Gu worm takes a lot of time, effort and resources, so first I'll give each of you 10 Primitive stones to help you refine your Gu." The uncle instructed a servant to deliver a bag of primitive stones to each of the brothers.

Fang Zheng picked up his bag of primitive stones with a silly grin on his face as he exuded joy, while Suo Bai picked up his bag of primitive stones with a calm and slightly grateful smile.

"This junior thanks his uncles for their generous help." Suo Bai clenched his fists in traditional Chinese gratitude and bowed slightly with his characteristic smile on his face.

"Thanks too, uncles!" Fang Zheng, who was next door, was startled by his brother's thanks and thanked his uncles as well while bowing.

"Now come and sit down. I want to talk to you a bit more." His uncle smiled as he pointed with his hand to two seats next to him.

The twins soon sat down in their respective chairs next to each other as they listened to their uncle's speech: "You know, we're very proud of your achievements and talents, we consider you to be our own children."

"So after talking it over, we've come to the conclusion that we want to adopt you both as our own children. What do you think?" The aunt took the lead and invited the twins while holding her husband's arm with a smile on her face.

Fang Zheng, who was listening to all this, hesitated for a moment, looked at his uncles and saw them smiling warmly, and felt that something was wrong. But he also longed to have a complete family again, so he cast one last glance at his older brother before quickly replying with hot blood: "Uncles, I appreciate the offer, but I still need a bit of time to think about it."

Fang Zheng was still very docile and innocent because of his need for attention and the warmth of a real family, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten everything he went through at the hands of his uncles, and especially now that he's gaining more courage and determination thanks to Suo Bai's subtle influence in his dreams.

So he didn't give in to his aunt and uncle's request right away, but he was still happy to think about the idea of turning into his son who is cared for by his parents again, just as he was before his real parents died.

Suo Bai, upon hearing Fang Zheng, raised his eyebrow in surprise, he almost raised his thumb to praise his little brother. 'This is really a surprise, I thought he would still follow the same path that fate had written, but fate has really just changed through my hands. And I only needed a week of suggestive dreams.

If it hadn't been for the occasion, Suo Bai would have laughed with pride at his new little brother.

"Good, good. Now you're our worthy son- ...What?" Dong Tu was just as surprised by Fang Zheng's answer as Suo Bai and his eyes widened.

"Why do you say that, Fang Zheng? Is it because of how you've lived up until now? Do you still harbor any sorrow?" Dong Yue asked in shock.

'Bad choice of words, woman who refuses to use her brain. bringing up the fact that you mistreated him before will only make him hesitate even more to accept you as parents.' Suo Bai sighed, looking at his aunt with the intelligence of a stone in the road.

Even Dong Tu gave his wife a strange look when he heard this: 'Whose side are you on, woman?

Dong Tu pulled himself together and asked. "What bothers you about being our son, Fang Zheng?"

Fang Zheng hesitated for a moment, looked at his older brother and saw him smiling calmly at him and then replied. "It's not that I turned down your offer uncle, it's just that I need a bit more time to think about it."

"After all, I still carry the image of my beloved parents in my heart, and I wouldn't feel right replacing them so suddenly." Fang Zheng paused for a moment and then continued.

"But don't take this to mean that I'm ungrateful, I know very well that you've looked after me and my brother all this time, and I'm grateful for that, but I still can't forget who my real parents are." Fang Zheng concluded, leaving everyone in the room surprised again by his choice of words.

Dong Tu was frustrated to hear Fang Zheng's answer, and was even more irritated by the look Fang Zheng gave Suo Bai before answering each question, as if he was trying to get his approval.

"I understand that you still remember your late parents, but you should leave the past behind and have a real family." The aunt replied with tears in her eyes as she smiled at Fang Zheng like a mother looks at her most beloved child (or a bag of money).

Dong Tu, who heard his wife, sighed in exasperation, and Suo Bai almost let out an inappropriate laugh. While Fang Zheng had a crooked expression of discontent. 

"Oh, Dong Yue, wisdom really is chasing you, but you're still faster. Suo Bai recited an amusing little proverb.

Suo Bai shook his head and sighed. 'How can you hear that Fang Zheng has just said that he still carries the image of his parents in his heart and then tells him to forget his parents in order to accept others.

'But I have to say I'm really proud of my little brother, I expected him to still feel needy for attention and fall for the theater put on by his uncles, but he's really changing'. Suo Bai nodded with satisfaction.

"What about you, Fang Yuan?" Dong Tu asked, but furrowed his brows when he saw Suo Bai's calm and serene face. And especially his eyes, which even though they were closed still brought an uncomfortable feeling to Dong Tu's mind.

Suo Bai smiled gently with his eyes still closed and clenched his fists as he replied: "I thank you very much for your uncles' consideration for me and my brother, but I make my little brother's words my own, I still carry my parents in my heart and I don't intend to replace them."

Suo Bai then continued. "Even though we don't have parents anymore, we still have each other. I cherish my dear little brother very much, so we'll never really be alone."

"Brother." Fang Zheng felt moved when he heard his older brother. 'The big brother is right, despite everything we still have each other in life. Fang Zheng clenched his fists with determination as the scenes from his dreams came back to his mind.

The uncles were slightly worried by the brothers' actions, but they didn't show it in their expression and simply kept their gentle smiles on their faces.

"I understand, I understand that you want to keep your family name alive. That's why I've prepared a good sum of 500 primordial stones as financial support so that each of you can raise your own family without worry." Dong Tu nodded and asked a servant to bring two large bags of primitive stones.

Fang Zheng smiled happily and was about to accept the primitive stones from his uncle. But Suo Bai tugged lightly on his shoulder and replied. "We can't accept that from the uncles. You've already done too much to me and my brother, and we can't brazenly take your primordial stones like this."

Suo Bai wiped the smile off his face and showed a righteous expression as he denied the primordial stones. And when Fang Zheng heard what his brother said, he thought it would be disrespectful too and backed away. Unfortunately, he was still a bit naive and didn't understand the dispute that was going on here.

"That..." Dong Tu frowned and didn't know what to do now that both Fang Zheng and Suo Bai had refused his two plans, if only Fang Zheng would accept the primitive stones he could claim that Fang Zheng had left his family behind to form a new one. 

And with that, even if Fang Zheng had Grade A talent, he couldn't forcefully claim the family inheritance and even if he did, he would have to throw away his reputation.

And reputation in a small clan like this where everyone knew each other is as important as Master Gu's own life, few people would be willing to throw away their reputation in the village and those who chose to throw away their reputation were ostracized by the system.

That's why Dong Tu was confident in one of his plans, because for a Grade A talent like Fang Zheng, reputation is what he should cherish and protect the most. And if Fang Zheng agreed to be adopted by him, the Fang family inheritance would go directly into Dong Tu's hands and he would no longer have to worry about losing it.

Unfortunately, this plan is a very superficial view that Dong Tu has of the clan, since what really matters is strength and not reputation. Reputation can be decided by the strong at will, only the weak are limited by this system.

If Fang Zheng really reached Level 3 or 4, he could even take an inheritance from a decadent family and make it his own, claiming it was for the future of the clan. Let alone a small inheritance that a non-combat Level 2 Gu Master took for himself.

With the support of the clan leader and allied factions, he could even seize Dong Tu's private inheritance, on the grounds that he was no longer contributing to the clan and wasting precious resources. And recovering Fang Zheng's rightful inheritance would be much simpler.

That's why Dong Tu's superficial plan only shows how complacent he has become in luxury. If he really was still the same Gu Master who had almost reached Level 3, perhaps he would have made a better plan, or would have been able to establish his estate himself. 

But unfortunately he resigned himself to the mediocrity of worldly pleasures and lost the ambition of a true Gu Master.

Now that Suo Bai had gone through with his plans, he would have to come up with a plan to prevent Fang Zheng from claiming the inheritance back, but without incurring the wrath of the clan. Because the clan will protect a Grade A talent like Fang Zheng tooth and nail.

"If that's all, then I wanted to say goodbye to my uncles." Suo Bai returned with his face calm and serene as he said goodbye to his uncles and went to his room.

Fang Zheng stood there not knowing what to say at that moment and simply said goodbye to his new parents too: "Uncle, Aunt. He will retire to his room to refine his Gu."

"All right, go and concentrate on your refinement." Uncle said as he sighed slightly and sent Fang Zheng to his room and dismissed the servants from the room.

As soon as the uncles were alone, they threw away their fake smiles and tears and showed a cold face of anguish as they thought about the twins' actions today.

"And now. What are we going to do, husband? What if Fang Zheng wants to claim the inheritance for himself?" Her aunt was already worried about losing her life of luxury.

"I don't know. I need more time to think, but at least he still needs to be 16 and complete the clan mission to claim the inheritance." Dong Tu tried to calm his wife while rubbing his forehead in concern.

"Since when did that kid get so smart?" Auntie cursed angrily.

"It must have been the influence of his talent, he may have become more confident and arrogant, and tried to imitate his older brother by pretending to be intelligent. But he's still naive, since he almost accepted our primitive stones, if it weren't for the interference of that rat Fang Yuan we could at least claim that Fang Zheng gave up the inheritance." Dong Tu sighed as he thought about his problems.

"Fang Yuan that cunning kid, he easily saw through our intentions." Dong Tu felt a shiver run down his spine as he remembered that closed-eyed smile Suo Bai had given while listening to their proposal. 

"It's as if he feels sorry for me and looks at me like a child playing in the sand." Dong Tu felt that all his years of experience could easily be seen through Suo Bai's eyes.

...

The night was already deep and the stars were dotting the sky. The natural magical scene of this world reappeared in Suo Bai's eyes as he looked at the village and saw the lights of the houses illuminating the quiet night, making the liveliness of the world unfold right in front of him.

In his room, Suo Bai was sitting on a chair near the window while he enjoyed the view of the village and used the Liquor worm to cultivate a little. He was currently allowing the Nexus to control his primitive essence and allowing him to cultivate at any and all times.

"How's the control of the primitive essence, Nexus?" Suo Bai asked softly, his eyes still appreciating the beauty of the village at night.

[I'm getting better and better at fine-tuning the primitive essence, sir!]

[I can currently maintain the state of nourishment of the walls of the aperture while managing the amount of primitive essence passively]

"That's good, very good. I will certainly have an advantage by cultivating 24 hours a day without rest." Suo Bai nodded in satisfaction.

But his moment of leisure didn't last long before someone knocked on his door and called him in.